My Wonderful Trip To South Africa That Didn’t Happen Thanks To The TSA And Delta Airlines

I don’t normally post personal items, but I think that everyone should know about some of the horrible things happening at San Diego International Airport and with Delta Airlines. I wrote this immediately after the events that transpired so that I would have an accurate log.

Summers are the busiest travel time of the year. Each year more than 750 million passengers move through our country’s airports raking up more than 800 billion miles of travel. (Source) Along with the increase in demand, air travel complaints are up as well. (Source PDF)

Now, we all know this year has been a special one for the airlines and air travel as a whole. From the JetBlue hostage crisis, the terrorist “dry runs” on airport security around the country, and the most recent debacle on Southwest Airlines where they asked a woman to cover up because of her lewd attire.

Recently, I had to travel to Johannesburg, South Africa for business. I had an important meeting for a big bid that was scheduled for Monday. I was scheduled to arrive on Sunday. The thing that was going to make the 25+ hour trip worth while was the opportunity to spend some time with my relatives that I have not seen in many years, so I had planned to have an extended stay.

Any way you slice it, it’s pretty crappy flight, mine was supposed to be the best of the worst according to friends that had made the same flight previously. It was certainly the least painful of all the previous routes that I have taken to Johannesburg in the past. My flight was from San Diego (SAN) to Atlanta (ATL) and then on to Johannesburg (JNB) via Dakar for some fuel. All flights on Delta. Flying coach.

I was scheduled to depart Saturday morning at 6:30 AM. I arrived at the airport on time, checked in at the Delta desk in Terminal 2 (PDF). I checked in at the First Class counter, they let me because no one else was waiting in that line.

That is when the fun began.

At the time that I place my bag on the scale I look over my left shoulder to scope out the security screening line.

Side note: Delta only lets you take 50 lbs. per bag, but they let you take two bags. I got charged $25 in overage. So much for the 70 lbs. of other international carriers.

“Jesus”, I thought to my self.

The security line was the longest I had ever seen it, dozens of switch-backs, and even extending onto the sky-bridge! Memories of the lines I endured at London Heathrow during the ‘liquid bomb’ scare flash through my mind.

I ask the Delta agent if I had a fighting chance, she said that I should have “no problem, it moves fast”.

As I get in line, I look out over the sky-bridge just in time to see the sun beginning to rise.

The line shows no sign of life for minutes. Suddenly, some action – three steps forward…

The mother in front of me with her two little girls lets out a sigh. I tell her “just when you think there is no hope.. it moves”. She laughs and asks where I’m from, I tell her that I’m a San Diego native and ask her the same question. We chat about San Diego, and where we are traveling and things of that sort. I then ask her “What time is your flight?”, “7:30″ she replies. “What about yours?”, “6:30″. She tells me that she will gladly hold my spot in line while I go to the front. I told her that I’ve got 45 minutes and there is no point getting nervous.

After fifteen minutes finally I make it inside the terminal, clock on the Blackberry reads 6:00 AM at this point. I see another nervous guy jump out of line and go up to the TSA staff and “First Class” security line. A minute passes and he returns discouraged and starts speculating about his flight leaving at 6:30, I asked him what they said. He was told to get back in line and that he would be fine. I was unimpressed with this, but figured it was just to early to start escorting passengers. I decide to wait.

The entire security line is snapped to attention when a rather large TSA employee decides that 6:05 AM is the perfect time to make an announcement at the top of his lungs. He requested that everyone make sure that all water bottles were out of the bags and that if you had anything larger than 3 oz. to come and get a zip lock bag from him. He also said that “If you have any questions, I am at the TSA desk and will be happy to help.”

It is now 6:12 AM on the Blackberry, the sign on the turnstile reads 25 minutes to go (the previous one read 15 minutes), I tell the woman and her husband, who had just arrived, that hopefully I won’t see them later (because I’ll be on my plane), but I would appreciate it if they could hold my spot. “No problem, good luck!”.

So I quickly walk up to the area where the loud TSA employee is standing and approach a woman wearing a maroon “Supervisor” polo-shirt. I tell her that I have a 6:30 flight. “Get back in line”, she tell me. With no eye contact.

I then hold out my ticket and say “Ma’am I’ve a 6:30 flight to Atlanta, I think I am going to miss my flight.”

“Get back in line”, louder this time, still no eye contact. (Think nightclub door man/bouncer.)

“Ma’am, please, I have an international connection in Atlanta I cannot afford to miss my flight.”

“I told you, GET BACK IN LINE” (Even louder, still no eye contact)

I then realize that this is going no where with this woman, and say to the TSA employee who made the announcement; “Sir, I beg you, please may I go through, I am going to miss my flight to South Africa.” He was standing right behind this “supervisor.”

This entire time, first class passengers are being allowed through their VIP entrance to their own x-ray and metal detector. No lines for VIPs. Just like a night club.

This lovely “supervisor” then snaps to him “Don’t get involved! Don’t make me call Frankie.”

Thinking that maybe this “Frankie” might have more intelligence and compassion I say, “Who’s Frankie? Lets call Frankie!”

At this point, there were no more first class passengers going through this entrance.

I decide to hang around and wait, perhaps this “supervisor”, Jackie, would have a change of heart and let me through to make my flight. Given that there were no first class customers waiting, no sweat off her back. There is also no point in going back to the line, if I do that I am guaranteed to miss my flight.

At this point, I turn around and am confronted by two Harbor Police Officers. Officer Columbus Offord (Badge #3306) and Officer Walter Tucker (No badge number on his card?)

“This guy refuses to move!” Jackie pipes in from over my shoulder.

“Whats the problem?” the officers ask me.

At this point, we are in the middle of the terminal. Before I respond, the officers and I walk off to the side near the check-in counters.

“There is no problem officers. I am going to miss my flight, I have an international connection to make and she will not let me go through. I have been here with plenty of time to make it through security, but the line is not moving.”

“Well, we cannot just put you to the front of the line, you have to speak to Delta”

“Ok, I’ll go speak to Delta”

The Delta check-in desk is the closest to where I am now.

I walk over there, the officers stay put. I ask the First Class Delta employee – “Will they be holding the 6:30 flight for people that are waiting to get through security?”

“No, and if your not at the front already you wont make it”, she responds.

The officer then proceeds to radio my details in, and his partner just stands with me.

He then must have gotten word back from dispatch that I am NOT a terrorist, or he just wanted to log it in for their records.

He then gives me back my passport, waves his hand, and says “Go through.”

I then hand my tickets and passport to another first class “document checker”, and then Jackie says “What do you think your doing?”

“The officers said that I could come through!”, I plead.

“Oh no they didn’t, you get back in line where you were!”

Now, remember back now to the family holding my place in line? They had been watching this entire thing and were now at the front of the line, literally next in line. They waved to get my attention and say “We are here! We’re up here!”.

“I’m with those people, thats where I was”, I tell Jackie.

“Oh hell no, he’s not up there with those people, he’s got to get at the back of the line where he was.”, Jackie says.

“No, I was standing with them”, I plead again.

“They’re on Continental, they don’t know him!” (How could she know this?)

“I do know them, they are here from Florida on holiday, they were here for a week. Their flight connects in Houston!”, I say.

At this point the husband of the family, my hero – got love New Yorkers (living in Florida). Screams at the top of his lungs “He’s with us, you let him up here right now!” directly into the face of the TSA bouncer that made the announcement earlier.

The TSA officer says to the husband, “Sir, lower your voice.”

“Fine go through”, Jackie says knowing she could no longer deny me and had lost.

At the same moment I walk through the First class line behind the TSA officer. I hear the husband ask, “Why are you guys doing this to this guy, he just wanted to get on his flight?”

As I walk by, I hear the TSA officer respond – “Sir, that gentleman made a death threat on my life”. AN OBVIOUS LIE! I ignore it, as at this point I am shaking from the stress of the situation and I am nervous that I am not going to make my flight.

“Oh, I didn’t know anything about that”, the husband says.

The family and I are now parallel in the lines. I say thank you to both the husband and wife for their help and they try to calm me down, I was visibly shaking. I give the husband my business card and say please get in touch so that I can thank you. I hope he reads this and does.

I did not think a thing about the TSA officer’s “death threat” statement and went to the x-ray machine.

I take out my Powerbook and put it in a bin with the case, and toss my sandals and backpack in another.

No x-ray or metal detector alarms, and I get re-dressed.

I then run to Gate 40, basically the farthest gate in the terminal (check map linked above). I though the adrenaline would have got me there faster, but by Gate 38 my legs were running at half speed. Note: It must have been the sandals

I get to the gate counter nearly dying and say to a Delta clerk, named Ana, “Did I make it for the 6:30?”

“Nope, its already gone.”, she says.

“How long did I miss it by?”, catching my breath.

“Technically you missed it by 5 minutes, but actually you missed it by 2″, she says. (Read: SHIT!)

“Let me see you ticket”, she says.

So I hand her my ticket, tell her I’m catching a connection to Johannesburg.

She then puts me on the 8:00 AM flight to Atlanta, and tells me that I will need to run, “No Starbucks”, and puts me as far forward on the plane as she could. Seat 12C.
I ask her about my bag.

She says that it left on the plane without me, but assures me that it will be on the plane to Johannesburg.

I thank her and then go to the bathroom for a little moment. “This sucks, is it still worth going?” I think to my self.

I gather my composure and start walking back to the security screening area to find out the names of the people I had just dealt with so pleasantly at the security screening.

I spot a “security guard” on break and ask him if he knows who the woman (Jackie) at the front was and who the guy (TSA) was. He explains that TSA wear all white, and that some are private employees but still employed by the government.

He then says that he wants to see who these people were also and starts walking back with me.

On the way I see the two officers, Walter Tucker and Columbus Offord, sitting on coffee break and I approach them.

I say “Hi officers, I just wanted to let you know that I did not make my flight.” I continue, “I know you were just doing your job, but I would like to get your names and badge numbers.”

“What do you need that for?”, one says.

“You don’t need that!”, the other proclaims.

“What do you need it for?”, they both say obviously feeling defensive and threatened.

I respond, “I need it for the same reason that you needed to see my passport, so I know who I talked to. I want to be able to remember everything accurately.”

They then begin to pull out their business cards.

As the first officer, sitting on the right, hands me his business card, he says “You know you don’t come to the airport and make death threats.”

I respond by saying, “That is a ridiculous lie! You and I both know, you better than me, that if I had made a death threat to a federal officer that I wouldn’t be here right now, I would be arrested. You probably would have been the ones to do it. Its very easy for that TSA employee to make false accusations, I am just a regular citizen and I have no recourse, and he has no repercussions for making these false accusations.”

“Ok”, they say as they stare at me blankly.

After that, I walk towards the TSA kiosk, on the “secured” part of passenger screening.

I walk up to, a senior looking officer. Scott Stanfield.

I tell him, that I had a problem with some employees and I would like to know who they are so that I can file a complaint.

He says OK, but wants to make sure that he knows who I am talking about. So I tell him the woman in the front, with a maroon polo shirt, and the larger gentleman with a white TSA shirt at the desk in front. He walks me over to a more direct line of site, and points at them. I confirm that those are the people, even though I could not see the woman at the time.

He begins to tell me that the woman, Jackie, is not a federal employee, but is employed by a private firm GAT Security. I tell him thats fine, give me GAT Security’s number and the manager’s contact information and I will file a complaint with them.

Then I say I want to know who the TSA employee is, he says that he cannot give me his name because he is a federal employee. At this point I look at his badge and say “Scott Stanfield, are you kidding me? I can just go walk up and read his name off his badge, but you can’t tell me?”

“No, Sir I can’t. If you tell me what your complaint is, I will file the complaint for you”, he responds in a serious manner.

“Ok then”, I say.

At this point, several other TSA employees start to crowd around like school children trying to eavesdrop on a secret.

I tell him, that I don’t feel comfortable where we are standing and move over to the side a few feet.

I then explain to him, that as I walked behind the TSA officer he told another passenger that I had made a “death threat on his life.”

I tell Scott that this is a blatantly false accusation, and that his employees should not joke about these types of things. I also tell him, what everyone knows, that if it were true. I would be in custody.

I can see that this is not going anywhere, as he hardly agrees that this was a problem.

“This type of behavior must be encouraged”, I think to my self.

Before I go, they give me a piece of paper with – “G.A.T Security – Kyle 619-491-2864″, written on it. They say that Kyle is the Jackie’s manager. I thank them and go on my way.

When I return to Gate 40 I speak with Ana, the Delta clerk again. She says that I should go over and speak with the Delta manager, she points him out for me.

I walk up and ask the Delta Gate Manager about GAT Security and tell him my story.

He then says he will call a GAT manager to come speak with me.

I wait about 10 minutes and a guy shows up with a reflective safety vest, the GAT “manager”. He has been out on the runway, with his vest and ear plugs. This guy looks like a baggage handler, not the manager of airport security.

I explain to him what happened, and he tells me this in not the first time they have had problem with Jackie.

He then gives me the office number 619-491-2864 and Kyle’s name. I decide to give the number a call, it goes straight to voicemail on a cell phone, its Kyle’s cell phone. I start to wonder why is this number for the office going to Kyle’s cell phone?

I then go back up to Ana, she asks for my tickets again, and says if the plane doesn’t board in the next twenty minutes that I won’t make it. She wants to put on me on the same flights for tomorrow. I tell her “Ok, thank you”, and wait like the rest of the passengers.

At about 7:45 AM the plane has not boarded yet, and I get approached by another Delta manager who asks if the GAT supervisor was helpful. I tell him no. He then says, “come over here I want to lookup your flights.” He confirms that Ana had put me on for next day and says, “see you tomorrow.” It turns out that the bolt that they use to attach the plane to the vehicle for towing into the gate had broken and the plane was stuck on the runway.

I go up to Ana and thank her for being “the nicest person that I had dealt with today.” She said she was actually in a bad mood, but liked me. She asks for my tickets again, and at this point I figured I would ask about bulk-head seats for tomorrow. She said that they are only assigned the day of the flight. She then said, but don’t worry I have upgraded you to Business class. Don’t tell anybody.

I thanked her graciously and left the airport.

On my way out I see the TSA’s Scott Stanfield coming up the escalators near where this morning’s events began. I tell him that the second flight had mechanical problems and thanked him.

I spent several hours after I got home trying to find GAT Security in the White Pages and online, I could find nothing. I then decide to call the San Diego International Airport and ask for a manager… there is none. The only person to speak with is the directory assistance person.

I then try call the Harbor Police, I finally manage to get hold of a Sergeant Micksel. I explain to him what had happened with his two officers, that they initially refused to provide their badge numbers and names. I then spend nearly an hour and twenty minutes explaining to him why it was NOT appropriate behavior for them to tell me “You know you don’t come to the airport and make death threats.” He could not see why this was a problem. I tell try to walk him through the logic that it was a lie and a false accusation, and they knew it was false because if it were true they would have had to act.

Finally I tell him, “If you are not going to take my complaint seriously I will find someone who will.”

That gets his attention and he says he wants to get the dispatch logs and call me back. I wait for his call, and twenty minutes later he does call back.

He says that I dealt with “one African American officer and one Asian American officer.” I tell him, “No, actually they were both African American.” I don’t know why this was relevant?

He then tells me that all the dispatch logs said was that someone, called in “a disturbance”. I tell him that I had not created a disturbance, and the tells me that all the Harbor Police do is respond when they are called.

I then ask him how I can go about filing my complaint. He tells me to contact Internal Affairs and speak with John Reilly at 619-686-6590.

I thank him and hang up the phone.

The next morning I then decided that a trip of that length, when I have already missed my meeting is not worth taking.

My next mission is to get my ticket refunded.

I call Delta and ask for a refund, they tell me that I can’t get one even though it was a mechanical failure that prevented me from making my flight and even though I no longer need to make the trip.

I then ask how I can go about getting my bag back to San Diego… Remember? It flew WITHOUT me!

They tell me that they cannot get it, I have to go to the baggage desk at the airport.

So I go back to sleep and when I wake up I go to the airport to request my bag.

The baggage desk requests for the bag to be sent back to San Diego and delivered to my home.

My girlfriend, then says “Lets go to the Delta desk and ask for a refund.”

I oblige.

I tell the Delta clerk what happened, and that I no longer need to make the trip and would like a refund.

Interestingly, she does not offer me another ticket for another travel date. At the time I did not know that was the typical response. To be honest, I have never missed a flight before. Let’s hope this is not a new trend for me.

She then proceeds to do a TRR (Ticket Refund Request).

The manager comes over and explains that because I didn’t buy my ticket directly from Delta the amount that I purchased the ticket for does not show up in the system. Therefor, he cannot refund me today.

I tell him that I understand. The clerk then gives me a print out and tells me to call 1-800-847-0578 on the 23rd of August. They will take about two weeks to find out how much I paid and then be able to process the refund.

I thank her, and ask her about the $25.00 in over-baggage that I had to pay.

She says that they will be able to refund me when I call.

I thank her again, and go home.

Two weeks later, on Monday the 27th I call the refund center and give them my TRR number.

I am told that they can see my name in the system, but they have not yet received the actual request from the airport for a refund.

“What? I don’t understand, you have my name and the TRR number? What else do you need?”, I ask.

“We need the actual paper receipt from the airport, it can take up to 40 days”, the customer service representative replies as if this was normal.

“I have a paper copy”, I tell him.

“Ok, you can fax it to us at this number: 404-715-9256″, he explains.

So I fax it through immediately.

I wait until Wednesday and call back. I give the representative my TRR number and they tell me again that they have not received anything from the airport.

I tell them that I faxed it through already.

“When did you do that?”, she asks.

“On Monday”, I reply.

“What time?”, she says.

“Around 11:30 AM”, I tell her.

“Ohhhh I see that here, it will take at least seven business days to before anyone can get to that”, she explains.

“Ok, thanks”, I say and hang up.

Several days later I call back and ask for an update.

They tell me that they have refunded me $1943.71

I ask why the amount is $1943.71 and not $2143.71, which is what I was billed.

She tells me that there was a $200 penalty.

I tell her that I missed the flight because of Delta, and should not have to pay ANY penalty.

She says that its the policy.

I ask her about the $25.00 over baggage fee.

She says that it was not included with the refund request and cannot do anything.

I tell her that the Delta desk told me that the refund department would be able to process that at the time that my ticket will be refunded.

She tells me to go back to the airport and ask them.

And that is where we are today… So my friends, I pose the following questions:

What recourse do passengers that encounter things like this with the TSA have? This is obviously a case where the TSA officer felt that it would be easier to lie to justify his actions, rather than do the right thing and help someone.

How can Delta let my bag fly without me? I thought that airlines are supposed to remove passengers that do not board? Isn’t this a HUGE security risk? I mean, you could read my story and find a massive loop-hole in the security system at airports. Especially given that in recent “dry-runs” bags with simulated bombs made it onto planes. I know I don’t feel safe now, knowing that the baggage belonging to the guy being detained at security is on the plane even if he is not. Does keeping him off the plane make us safer?

Why should coach passengers be discriminated against? Why do first class passengers receive special security treatment? Are they paying more taxes to support the TSA? No! They should be in line with every other tax payer in coach.

Seriously, what if I end up on a “no-fly” list? What recourse does one have in a situation like this? Like this guy?

Who is GAT Security? How did a company with two employees, Jackie and Kyle, with only a cell phone get into a position where they can over rule the TSA and dictate what passengers get on to their flights and which get delayed?

Why did the TSA’s Scott Stanfield refuse to provide me the name of the other TSA employee? His excuse was bogus, if the employee wears a badge… his name is not a government secret!

Why does it take Delta? Two weeks/40 Days/Seven days to process a refund? The kicker here is that my credit card was billed by “DELTA AIR LINES ALEXANDRIA VA” and not by the website that I purchased the tickets from – Cheapoair.com? Is this just an excuse to keep our money and make it difficult to get refunds for things that they did not provide?

Thanks for reading!

So much for the friendly skies.

If you are looking for some other interesting reading check out these articles:

240 Responses to My Wonderful Trip To South Africa That Didn’t Happen Thanks To The TSA And Delta Airlines

Tyranny folks, can you say TYRANNY! I have read every reply here. I Wonder if any one here remembers why we have the right to bear arms? Now,… The Blog may be greater than the gun…. start paying attention to every thing going on in our country. Do you not see that the democracy of the U.S.A. is almost at an end. The Next step in our evolution is Dictatorship. I think the terrorists knew exactly what they were doing. They knew the U.S.A would respond with a knee jerk reaction. They picked the right time and the right president to do it to. I have been watching things like this unfold since 9/11 and it’s only going to get worse.
Here is what i want to know how many other airlines are at the San Diego terminal What time did the ticket counters for those airlines open? Delta is not the only one. Bottom line is if he got in line at 3:30 am the counter opens at 5:00 am he only gets 1.5 hours to get processed through security. The other airlines also contribute to the line, you see….the poor planning as i see it was the airline, Delta not opening the ticket counter at an early enough time so that they’re customers could have the 2 hours needed to get through security . I think the big picture here is the principal of the matter in which we get treated by TSA, I have been on an international flight recently i found it odd that it was harder getting out of the U.S. Than it Was to get back in….
Don’t Tread on Me!!

I couldn’t tell from your writeup why you didn’t give enough time allowance for security checks? Normally, people would show up at least 2 hours before their scheduled flight but it seems you arrived only an hour before the flight??

I guess I can say is next time, arrive 2 hours (or more) before your scheduled flight. Nevermind you have to wait longer on the lounges at least you won’t miss you flight.

Oh, he could only get there 90 minutes before his flight since that’s when Delta opened. Still, it’s surprising to see that it took him 45 minutes to check in with Delta, leaving him only 45 minutes to get through security.

Seems a few folks are missing the point about a first class ticket and the security check for first class passengers.

Spending extra dollars on a flight entitles you to a number of Airline offered items: pre flight lounge, bigger seat, better food, more flight attendants, free drinks and mile high club (if on QANTAS).

What it shouldn’t do is offer you better government items such as security check in.

My analogy? Buying a more expensive car doesn’t entitle you to drive in a special “expensive cars only” lane- or on the sidewalk, driving over plebs.

So egalitarian USA, whatcha doing accepting this crap?

Regards
Tom (Australia, where the airline security folk are just as bad)

Get to the airport 3hrs of departure – even if the check in lines don’t open until 5-6am and your flight is at 6:01, it is the responsibility of the airline to get you checked in with enough time to get through whatever security you have to go through to make your flight. If they don’t, it’s on them to provide you a FULL refund or at least, a free ticket of equal value. Most airlines will announce ahead of time if ‘so and so’ is leaving on a certain timed flight, and bump you up the line.

Carry as few bags as possible. It has happened to me on NWA a few times where my bags flew and I didn’t. They have always got my bags back to me within 24hrs and bring them directly to my home, at no extra charge (and a few times I’ve received free vouchers for meals at the airport for the inconvenience).

Be as friendly and polite as possible, which it seems you did. TSA and staff at airports are just doing their job, and a stressful one at that. A smile and Thank You’s go a LONG way in getting YOUR way.

Always try to check in online, choose your seat, and print your boarding pass. I see people all the time taking up time at the kiosks doing this.

Unfortunately, with 9/11, flying has become a chore. You have to be prepared ahead of time. If you still have not received a full refund, start writing to every address you can get at Delta, and your local/national news stations/newspapers.

[...] My Wonderful Trip To South Africa That Didnâ€™t Happen Thanks To The TSA And Delta Airlines | NetStu… I donâ€™t normally post personal items, but I think that everyone should know about some of the horrible things happening at San Diego International Airport and with Delta Airlines. I wrote this immediately after the events that transpired so that I would (tags: abuse airlines article blog flying security temp travel usa tsa) [...]

Wow, I’ve never had such an abysmal experience as you just had and I’ve been around the planet 8-10 times so far. I can only hope that you never have problems like that again and that someday you find a little justice for all of the hassle that a few bad apples caused.

I am a fellow SD resident. I feel your pain. I am sorry to hear you have dealt with so much incompetence.

I have one suggestion that can stop this retarded madness once and for all. Let’s stop flying.

Seriously, let’s all refuse to buy airline tickets for 1 month. If anything will get the attention of those in a position of “change” to rectify this body-cavity-search invasion…not paying for flights will certainly do so.

Right now, the airlines feel they have us by the short and curlys. So does the TSA.

IF we do not buy any tickets for this holiday season, and instead decide to take a train, car, bus, or carpool… we will have the attention of these buffoons. I’m not flying anyplace this holiday season. Let’s band together and actually all NOT fly.

I had the experience of a lifetime while flying Delta from Cincinnati to Las Vegas.

Our original flight was scheduled at noon. We boarded on time and departed within a few minutes of schedule. After taxiing to the takeoff position, and waiting in line we finally got to be number 1 at about 1245. But, as we started to rev the engines, we suddenly stopped and pulled out of line.

The pilot, who kept us well informed, told us that he had a warning light. He needed advice as to whether he had to abort the flight or could fly and we were waiting to the side for an answer. Finally at about 1330 we received the answer that repairs would need to be made. Therefore, we were returning to the gate.

We finally made it to the gate at about 1415. Two hours later we were informed that the plane was ready to fly, but we now needed to find a crew. We boarded the plane again at about 1800. But rather than taking off we were asked to deplane as they had suddenly discovered that they didn’t have enough crew members.

Again at about 1930 we once again boarded the plane and finally left for LAS at about 2000. Well we flew for nearly an hour when the captain informed us that some of the crew members would “timeout” before our arrival in Las Vegas and that he had been ordered to return to Cincinatti. We landed, taxied back to the gate, and deplaned at about 11 PM.

All in all, I spent about 14 Hours in the Cincinatti airport. I boarded the plane three times, left the gate twice, took off once, and still spent the night in Cincinnati.

What I really wanted to know, was how many frequent flier miles does one receive for flying from CVG gate 38 to CVG gate 47

First class passengers pay much more money for their ticket. This is why they are afforded luxuries like lounges, faster lines, better customer service, faster check in, and, of course, better seats and service on the plane. Often the airline will arrange a deal with security to move their first class and business customers through security faster. when it comes down to it if you pay more money you get better service all around.

If The USA had had the same security in place that the rest of the world has employed since Entebe then not only would you not have had the problems you had in your trip to South africa but 911 wouldn’t have happenend either.

People carrying box cutters on a plane? My moher had her pinking shears and nail file taken off her on flights in the SEVENTIES!

I won’t say that you should have gotten to the airport earlier (even though you should have), you just shouldn’t have been such a whiney bitch. If the TSA people don’t realize that you, out of all the people in line, are the most important one there, say thank you, get back in place,and take your chances.

There are two distinct issues here:
- Missing the flight
- The horrid actions of GAT

The second, while indefensible, would have been avoided altogether by managing the first.
The first would have been avoided by being there on time. The “desk didn’t open until 5″ statement means nothing. It doesn’t mean you can’t be in line before 5. If you got there an hour earlier, you would have been near the front and had plenty of time for security.

Everyone who things that the original poster is whining has not flown Delta out of SDI on an early flight. It’s a nightmare – hundred of people on line for 2 hours barely making or missing flights despite arriving in plenty of time. I’m sure this scene replays itself EVERY DAY there. By the time the counter opens there are too many people on line to all make their flights. Delta is not staffed to handle check-in fast enough for early flights so people end up spending 70 minutes checking in. Security has 20% of their services reserved for 3% of the people which results in 40 minute security line. I’m sure people miss their flights every morning because of this mess and anyone who’s seen it wouldn’t be critical of the complainer.

I’ve read all of the comments thus far, and I understand that as an organization many people are unhappy with the way that TSA does business.

Each lane at an airport, when properly manned, can process about 300 passengers an hour if conditions are absolutely optimal.

During the busiest periods, I put my best people at each position to keep everything running as speedily as I can to make sure that everyone makes their flights.

Part of the problem is that everyone shows up for their flight at right about the same time, which increases the amount of persons coming through the checkpoint at once by a large factor.

Add to that many persons with special needs that require additional screening (such as persons in wheelchairs), families with toddlers and persons that wait until they get to the walk through metal detector to get ready to walk through.

Whenever someone walks through the metal detector they are afforded the opportunity to try again if they alarm before they are sent to extra screening.

It is the people that aren’t paying attention to the stuff in their pockets, or insist their belt would never set off the alarm (or the famous “I’ve worn this through XXX airport a hundred times and have never set it off”) that makes everything slow down to a crawl.

People get angry when they have to take their shoes off. You can thank Richard Reid for that. The compounds he used for his explosive footwear did not have any metal in them, which is why they didn’t alarm the metal detector and they came very close to losing that plane.

As a result of that we have to have everyone remove their footwear to look at it under the x-ray to make sure that there isn’t an explosive charge in it.

Do I think that toddlers should have to take their shoes off? No, not really, but TSA HQ has mandated that all footwear come off, and so we have to follow their rules.

I know that the majority of people that come through the checkpoint just want to get in and out, and I know that most people don’t have any criminal or ill intent. That being said, as a result of the liquid explosives scare they came out with the new procedures on that.

I know that 99% of the time that a passenger’s toothpaste or shampoo isn’t a threat, but again we are mandated to stop it from coming through the checkpoint unless it is carried under very specific criteria.

People get angry with the procedures, but I know that the policy is setup in the faith that we want to have a blanket policy to keep explosives off the planes with the least amount of hassle.

People that are unhappy about the liquids, gels, and aerosols ban can thank extremist groups for hatching a plot that included liquid explosive material (peroxides, AMFO or Nitroglycerine come to mind)

The problem is that currently the amount of liquids that human beings need for life sustainment and enjoyment (and want to bring with them through the checkpoint) is far and away more than any sort of screening at a large airport can process in a timely manner. Current technology is limited to vapor testing and in some cases there is some technology that allows molecular density testing through the surface of the container, but it is just too time consuming and it would make the security line waits stretch into hours.

As a result, they put everything into the zip-lock bags and limited the size of the bottles that you could put everything in.

Why? there’s a couple of reasons for it.

First, it helps to unclutter the bags when they go through the x-ray. If passengers lay everything down in a single layer, and don’t cram 600 pounds of stuff into one bag, it’s far easier to see and not need to shoot it over to secondary screening.

Passengers have this odd habit of trying to cram everything they own into one bin. I really don’t know why. Spread it out over several bins so the x-ray operator can clearly see everything, and things will be much faster for everyone.

All footwear has to come off, unless you are medically unable. TSA knows that some people have special braces, or they are elderly and it is painful to sit and undo shoes and whatnot.

Just expect to take your shoes off. Sandals too. Bring surgical booties or wear socks if you don’t want to walk on the floor or carpet barefoot.

I know that there is a lot of people that don’t like TSA, because of their attitudes.

I’ve tried to stay as positive as I can over the years, but one thing that people don’t get is that we get crapped on, quite a bit.

Passengers that go into over-the-top drama mode because THEY didn’t want to follow some simple, readily available and posted rules gets repeated several hundred times a day at my checkpoint.

Over the years you get tired of all the false drama that people create, and it wears on you. it’s kinda like being a police officer, the older they get they tend to be kind of “dicks” because over and over and over again somebody else breaks the law, then blames the police for the trouble they are in.

if you come through the checkpoint ready to travel (i.e. you followed all the regulations), get rid of everything metal on you and keep your ticket in your hand, you will likey cruise right through screening.

If you show up two hours early you should have no problems except during the holiday seasons when everyone is flying.

Although I can see this was frustrating you seem really confusing to me. I guess you haven’t figured out how capitalism works in the 20 years of life her in the States? People with more money get treated better. They paid more for their ticket so they get a VIP line. You have to stand in line with hte rest of the sheeple but are so fucking more important than the rest of the people in line with you keeping their mouths shut because they see the futility of the situation. You referenfce Xeni or Jenny which means you must be a complete douche if you are in cahoots with the BB crew. Ya know, I guess I just answered my own question. This shit happened to you because you are a douche. You may have friends and a gf but you are inevitably a douche. You are the asshole who was so important with your big flight to South Africa that you tried REPEATEDLY to circumvent the system and sneak through the first class line. Jackie probably noticed you and thought to her big black sow-ass “this little gay cracker think he sneaky, I jus hope he try some shit like dat wit me!” I added t3h ghey in there because you are probably gaunt from a life around computers, wear designer ironic ringer tees, and are generally weak from being an organic vegetarian, and you tried fair-trade coffee for a while but said “fuck it! Starbucks is just too convenient and good”. Now, most black women would like a bubbly little hair dresser type, but you physically fell into that gross, pan-sexual category PLUS circumventing the system= angry BBW. You also state that your carry on weighed 70lbs so you are also the cheap asshole who stuffs their massive roller-bag in the overhead compartment so that others must walk 12 seats down and stow their correct-sized luggage at the back of the plane which they will have to wait for the plane to empty at landing, and retrieve later. NOT YOU though, you don’t have time for that stuff, you have Mac and Blackberry product placement in your blog because it is like a badge to let people know how cool/douchey you are. Jenny would approve. Hope you learned a little with this experience and maybe grew up about 20 years in the process. Try and grow a beard, stop shaving your chest, cook something on a fire, and go play on a beach with no internet access. People don’t like douchebags or smarmy douches. It just pisses them off. Good luck with stuff man

Although it’s true that, as some defenders have pointed out, he has posted several times that the Delta ticket window didn’t open until 5:00 a.m., I haven’t actually seen him claim that he ARRIVED at 5:00 a.m. Given that in his story he basically had no wait at the ticket window (thank goodness for the extra 1st class window there, eh?), and got into the security line at 5:45, it sounds to me like he arrived at the airport roughly one hour before departure on a flight halfway around the world. He also ended up getting through the line more or less exactly where he would have without the confrontation; he just didn’t get special treatment to get him through the line faster.

The employees were rude to him. “Joking” about death threats by security staff should be taken as seriously as those security staff take “jokes” about bombs in one’s luggage. But the whole situation could have been avoided if he had just gotten to the airport 20 or 30 minutes earlier, and that late arrival is the real reason he missed his flight.

You can stop this by doing what I did. Try to change jobs so that you don’t have to fly anymore. I was also harrased and accused of trying to take a bomb on a plane when the fosforus? dial on my alarm clock set off the sniffer. Decided to never fly again.

GAT, formerly known as General Aviation Terminal is a crap outfit. I know I worked for them in Mobile back in the early 90′s. Pay was terrible, no benefits, and low life employees made it a realy crummy job. I was fortunate to get on with an airline and I can tell you it really woke me up as to how bad of a company it is. The best part is that GAT, because it is primarily owned by a woman get’s contracts with Delta and other airlines and thus has this non sensical swagger you had to deal with. Screw them

Sorry to hear about the troubles that you had. However, the way this story is written it has NOTHING to do with Delta. Your problems are partly self created, partly TSA related. Clearly, the problem is two fold:

First, according to your timeline above, you entered the security line 45 minutes prior to the departure of your flight. Clearly, you did not arrive at the airport far enough ahead of time for your flight. Anyone who travels somewhat regularly, or reads the newspaper articles about travel (as it seems you do) then you should know that JFK is a difficult airport and that for domestic flights, you should arrive 2 hours prior, and international 3 hours prior. These times have been in place in 9/11. Had you arrived at the airport with enough time you would have gotten through security and made your flight.

Second, arguing with TSA employees or contractors is pointless. It only costs you valuable time (as you’ve probably learned).

And then you get upset for Delta charging you a cancellation fee for your ticket? C’mon, it’s part of the ticketing and fare class rules. If you’d read those you shouldn’t be upset. Those T&C’s are standard throughout the airline industry and not exclusive to Delta.

IMO, your case here is weak. I see a lots of parts in your story where you made amateur mistakes in air travel that put you in your position.

2) “First class passengers pay more for their flight so they should get special treatment.” While I agree that they did pay more for their flight, they did not send the US Government (ie the TSA) a special check for their speedy security line. They pay the same taxes as the people in the other line and the taxes pay for the TSA.

Anyway, netstumbler is a great product, sorry about your airport nightmare and, more importantly, idiot commenters.

I’d feel worse for you if you had gotten there ahead of time so you’d have plenty of time for security. Expecting to be let ahead in line because of your own lack of planning earns you no sympathy from me.

I’ve been flying for a good portion of my life. I’ve seen TSA security become a lot more strict after 9/11. Fine, whatever it needs to be done, and these people are doing their jobs. It’s told on EVERY airline, if you read the fine print, no bags over 50 lbs. I want to know what airline allows bags that are 70 lbs. Next, for flights they tell you to get to the airport 2 hours ahead for domestic flights. . granted the ticket counter wasn’t open at 5, but knowing you have to go overseas means you probably want to be there at least 3 hours before your flight, not an hour. Who do you think you are thinking you are going to get preferential treatment because of what time your flight takes off? Maybe next time you fly on an “important” trip you need to get to the airport earlier. Quit bitching about these TSA agents, they are doing their job to keep passengers safe. Granted, I’ve been pulled out of line for a tube of chapstick, but I was EARLY to my flight by 2 hours. Stop blaming others for your own inadequecies.

I used to worry about arriving early to check in for flights, now I check-in online. Saves so much hassle. I fly internationally a lot, but mostly within Europe (in live in the UK.

I used to fly in and out of the US quite a bit in the past, but they have made so many pointless security rules it started becoming more trouble than the trip was worth. I do feel for Americans who fly for work a lot, you loose so much time for nothing. I do not understand how so many people are willing to give up valuable time to stand in unnecessary queues (read lines).

What worries me the most is the lack of responses from people related to the issue of the airline flying the bag without the passenger on board. BlahBlah posted reasons why this could have happened and I’m sure continues to happen every day, but that is a huge security risk. I am not about to start reading through the relevant FAA regulations, but I can tell you its against the law in the rest of the world for the airline to leave your luggage on board in the event you are not flying. Imagine what could be in the bag for one.

As for all the “feel better” security on show in major airports around the world, what a sham. I have on more than one occasion been searching for one thing or another in my carry on bag mid flight, only to find a pen-knife I thought lost during my trip. I always feel shocked and nervous at this point, like I will be in trouble somehow, then I quietly put in back in the bottom of the bag and continue the search for whatever I was actually looking for. The fact that I can accidentally bring weapons onto flights (always international, once from Dulles(VA), twice from airports in Europe) shows me just how safe these “security checks” and “screenings” are making me feel. I just hope the loud obnoxious TSA staff scare potential terrorists enough to make them leave their weapons at the airport and the long security lines make them decide they would rather blow up something else rather than stand around for hours praying whoever was in charge of the “fuses” was on the ball that day.

Just don’t ask about why we need all these security checks post 9/11, as there are some serious questions relating to what happened that day (I was living in DC as the time. I am interested in how some of the young men accused of the attack have since been found alive and well. No matter, more security will make it better say the people in power. I can’t see any of them waiting several hours in a line before being asked to take off their coat, belt and shoes, then having some rude security agent telling them they cannot take a drink with them for the 10 hour flight they are about to get on unless they buy it for $3.99 in the shop just past the check-point, who only sell safe bottles of water which are just a bit more expensive.

This is what happens when we take people with a tendency toward dominance and abusive and no marketable skills and give them any sort of unchecked power. Make no mistake, the TSA is only one agency in America today whose stated purpose is to keep people safe while their actual effect is to rob civilians of civil rights.

For those of you who keep yelling at this guy for not showing up early enough-please shut up:
1 – The Delta lines at San Diego airport don’t even begin to process passengers until 4:45am.
2 – The TSA line doesn’t start handling people until 5:00am (at the earliest).
3 – By 5:00am, the line is probably 100-150 people deep(sometimes it is MUCH longer). This is because everyone showed up 2 hours before the flight.

In many other airports, I have seen the security people walking the line putting people into the first class line if their flights were about to board. Not allowing it is ridiculous.

I am Silver preferred with US Airways and I just love walking past everyone in that line. I’ve earned it.

Ive been flying to Moscow since 2002 out of LAX, first to visit my girlfriend, then fiancee, now she is my wife and in America and we visit her home at least once a year. I was flying about 6 times a year for 4 years straight.

I agree with other people in here you should prepare for your flight, pack lightly as possible, try not to be a distraction, flashy clothes, attitudes, arrival substantially early, etc, but we cant fix the fact TSA and GAT are a bunch of jackasses, plain and simple.

Ive arrived 4 hours early many times only to have TSA tell me sorry we cant check yo bag until you check in at the desk first. The desk doesnt open until 1.5 hours before the flight. Then, when it does, everyone is in a mad rush to get their bags checked. Bullshit. To make it worse, every other time I go to the same god damned airport for the same god damned flight, TSA switched their rules so I have to wait at baggage check in before I can check in at the desk, then its a mad rush to check in at the desk with about 20 minutes before flight time. So getting to the airport 3 or 4 hours early is a load of fucking crap.

But we need these stories to come out and hopefully people will become awakened to whats going on in this world and what a “police state” is. Go to “infowars.com”, “prisonplanet.com”, “shirtees.net” and dont forget to listen to Alex Jones live daily radio feed at infowars.com. Make sure to check out his movie “Terrorstorm” on google video too.

quote: This brings me to rule #1 of international flying. Never ever ever fly an American owned airline internationally. Iâ€™m in the air at least once a month, most often internationally. The headaches stopped when I flew anything but an American airline. The international airlines have newer fleets, better service, better food (read: they have food) and tend to be more accommodating/quote

Moral of the story: if you had gotten to the airport earlier you would have been fine. This is what you get for cutting it close. Airport security people have to deal with so many jackasses like yourself who think they are entitled to special treatment because they are dumbasses that got to the airport too late. It probably desensitizes them to your complaints.

NO!
You will not go through the line which is empty!
This line is for party members and their companions only!
You may use the time during which you will be waiting to prepare yourself for the thorough searching of your possessions and of your person once the checkpoint is reached!

The security of the homeland is of utmost importance!
Those who travel must understand this fact!

Sorry about your bad experience. I just sucks to fly in the US now. The TSA has done nothing to make the airports and flight experience safer. Instead, their arbitrary and short sighted “security” measures have done nothing more than to piss off your average traveler. It’s just a jack-and-pony show on their part. Their insistence on sending all of your luggage through the x-ray scanner is slowly starting to damage the longevity of traveler’s electronics equipment, especially cell phones and small electronics. My father’s cell phone quit working because of all the times it went through x-ray scanners. Why can’t they just inspect your personal electronics by hand?

It also is very invasive when you are randomly selected to have a TSA staff person open up your bag. It’s incredibly embarrassing to have your personal possessions, incuding underwear touched by some stranger.

The unequal nature of the lines for preferred/business/first class and coach class is unfair.

He said that he was not at the line until 45 minutes before his flight. That means he could have arrived one hour earlier, checked his bags, been near the front of the line, and made his flight with ease. This all boils down to two factors:

1. He showed up much later than he should have.
2. He threw a fit over a line that he could have easily been at the front of.

If I was taking a critically important trip, I think I would have arrived at the airport with plenty of time to get through security. Of course I’ve never missed a flight.

QUOTE
I canâ€™t see any of them waiting several hours in a line before being asked to take off their coat, belt and shoes, then having some rude security agent telling them they cannot take a drink with them for the 10 hour flight they are about to get on unless they buy it for $3.99 in the shop just past the check-point, who only sell safe bottles of water which are just a bit more expensive.
UNQUOTE

Not so fast my friend … I flew from Hong Kong to San Francisco 2 weeks ago. Got to the HKG airport very early, ditched my water bottle into a trash can and basically – as I always do – stripped myself of anything metal and placed it in my backpack before going through Immigration and Security. I sailed right through, as usual. Once inside the Secure area, I had lunch and ordered an extra bottle of water to take with me. Got to the gate, gave my ticket to the staff and started walking through the jetway. At the door of the plane, several officers and tables were set for “secondary” inspections. There we go, my backpack is inspected again, and my water is confiscated. I tried to ask why since it was purchased inside the Secure area (I had the receipt in my hands), but to no avail. “Against the rules” was all I was told ….

I know its just water, but what upsets me are the inconsistencies. Just give me the rules, I’ll follow them. But don’t change the goal posts every other day (remember cigarette lighters?).

How dare anyone out there make fun of Delta after all they’ve been through. They went through bankruptcy and strikes and 9/11. And all you people care about is more, more, MORE! Leave Delta Alone! Youâ€™re lucky they even fly for you bastards! Leave Delta Alone.
PLEASE!